Search results for: advanced oxidation protein product

Authors: Elif Tugce Aksun Tumerkan

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Although seafood is an important part of human diet and categorized highly traded food industry internationally, it is remain overlooked generally in the global food security aspect. Food product authentication is the main interest in the aim of both avoids commercial fraud and to consider the risks that might be harmful to human health safety. In recent years, with increasing consumer demand for regarding food content and it's transparency, there are some instrumental analyses emerging for determining food fraud depend on some analytical methodologies such as proteomic and metabolomics. While, fish and seafood consumed as fresh previously, within advanced technology, processed or packaged seafood consumption have increased. After processing or packaging seafood, morphological identification is impossible when some of the external features have been removed. The main fish and seafood quality-related issues are the authentications of seafood contents such as mislabelling products which may be contaminated and replacement partly or completely, by lower quality or cheaper ones. For all mentioned reasons, truthful consistent and easily applicable analytical methods are needed for assurance the correct labelling and verifying of seafood products. DNA-barcoding methods become popular robust that used in taxonomic research for endangered or cryptic species in recent years; they are used for determining food traceability also. In this review, when comparing the other proteomic and metabolic analysis, DNA-based methods are allowing a chance to identification all type of food even as raw, spiced and processed products. This privilege caused by DNA is a comparatively stable molecule than protein and other molecules. Furthermore showing variations in sequence based on different species and founding in all organisms, make DNA-based analysis more preferable. This review was performed to clarify the main advantages of using DNA-barcoding for determining seafood fraud among other techniques.

Keywords: DNA-barcoding, genetic analysis, food fraud, mislabelling, packaged seafood

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Authors: Sihame Amakrane, Zineb Ouahdi, Mohammed Salah, Said Belaaouad

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\This research explores the efficacy of novel pyrimidine derivatives on bacterial strains such as Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, and Myccobacterium tuberculosis, utilizing bending energy calculations. Of the 25 compounds examined, 13 displayed potent activity against all the bacterial strains under study, exhibiting bending energy measurements between -7.4 and -10.7 kcal/mol. The -7.4 kcal/mol value corresponds to the bending energy of the SA12 and SA13 compounds with the 2xct protein (Staphylococcus aureus), whereas the -10.7 kcal/molis linked with the bending energy of SA6 and SA11 compounds with the 6GAV protein (Myccobacterium tuberculosis). Further research will involve a QSAR (Quantitative Structure-Activity Relationship) study aimed at constructing a reliable model to combat the aforementioned bacterial strains and a molecular dynamics study to evaluate the stability of ligand-protein complexes.

Keywords: docking, QSAR, bending energy, e. coli

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Authors: Christopher R. Triggle, Hong Ding, Khaled Machaca, Gnanapragasam Arunachalam

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The antidiabetic drug, metformin, has been in clinical use for over 50 years and remains the first choice drug for the treatment of type two diabetes. In addition to its effectiveness as an oral anti-hyperglycaemic drug metformin also possesses vasculoprotective effects that are assumed to be secondary to its ability to reduce insulin resistance and control glycated hemoglobin levels; however, recent data from our laboratory indicate that metformin also has direct vasoprotective effects that are mediated, at least in part, via the anti-ageing gene, SIRT1. Diabetes is a major risk factor for the development of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and it is also well established that tobacco use further enhances the risk of CVD; however, it is not known whether treatment with metformin can offset the negative effects of diabetes and tobacco use on cardiac function. The current study was therefore designed to investigate 1: the effects of hyperglycaemia (HG) either alone or in the presence of elevated fatty acids (palmitate) and nicotine on the protein expression levels of the deacetylase sirtuin 1 (the protein product of SIRT1), anti-apoptotic Bcl-2, pro-apoptotic BIM and the pro-apoptotic, tumour suppressor protein, acetylated p53 in cardiomyocytes. 2: the ability of metformin to prevent the detrimental effects of HG, palmitate and nicotine on cardiomyocyte survival. Cell culture protocols were designed using a rat cardiomyocyte cell line, H9c2, either under normal glycaemic (NG) conditions of 5.5mM glucose, or hyperglycaemic conditions (HG) of 25mM glucose with, or without, added palmitate (250μM) or nicotine (1.0mM) for 24h. Immuno-blotting was used to detect the expression of sirtuin 1, Bcl-2, BIM, acetylated (Ac)-p53, p53 with β-actin used as the reference protein. Exposure to HG, palmitate, or nicotine alone significantly reduced expression of sirtuin1, Bcl-2 and raised the expression levels of acetylated p53 and BIM; however, the combination of HG, palmitate and nicotine had a synergistic effect to significantly suppress the expression levels of sirtuin 1 and Bcl-2, but further enhanced the expression of Ac-p53, and BIM. The inclusion of 1000μM, but not 50μM, metformin in the H9c2 cell culture protocol prevented the effects of HG, palmitate and nicotine on the pro-apoptotic pathways. Collectively these data indicate that metformin, in addition to its anti-hyperglycaemic and vasculoprotective properties, also has direct cardioprotective actions that offset the negative effects of hyerglycaemia, elevated free fatty acids and nicotine on cardiac cell survival. These data are of particular significance for the treatment of patients with diabetes who are also smokers as the inclusion of metformin in their therapeutic treatment plan should help reduce cardiac-related morbidity and mortality.

Keywords: apoptosis, cardiac muscle, diabetes, metformin, nicotine

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Authors: M. Chiliza, H. P. Mbukwane, P Masita, H. Rutto

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Acid mine drainage (AMD) one of the main pollutants of water in many countries that have mining activities. AMD results from the oxidation of pyrite and other metal sulfides. When these metals gets exposed to moisture and oxygen, leaching takes place releasing sulphate and Iron. Acid drainage is often noted by 'yellow boy,' an orange-yellow substance that occurs when the pH of acidic mine-influenced water raises above pH 3, so that the previously dissolved iron precipitates out. The possibility of using environmentally friendly silane and phosphate based coatings on pyrite to remediate acid mine drainage and prevention at source was investigated. The results showed that both coatings reduced chemical oxidation of pyrite based on Fe and sulphate release. Furthermore, it was found that silane based coating performs better when coating synthesis take place in a basic hydrolysis than in an acidic state.

Keywords: acid mine drainage, pyrite, silane, phosphate

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Authors: S. Junaid S. Qazi, Denice C. Bay, Raymond Chew, Raymond J. Turner

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EmrE, a member of the small multidrug resistance protein family in bacteria is considered to be the archetypical member of its family. It confers host resistance to a wide variety of quaternary cation compounds (QCCs) driven by proton motive force. Generally, purification yield is a challenge in all membrane proteins because of the difficulties in their expression, isolation and solubilization. EmrE is extremely hydrophobic which make the purification yield challenging. We have purified EmrE protein using two different approaches: organic solvent membrane extraction and hexahistidine (his6) tagged Ni-affinity chromatographic methods. We have characterized changes present between ligand affinity of untagged and his6-tagged EmrE proteins in similar membrane mimetic environments using biophysical experimental techniques. Purified proteins were solubilized in a buffer containing n-dodecyl-β-D-maltopyranoside (DDM) and the conformations in the proteins were explored in the presence of four QCCs, methyl viologen (MV), ethidium bromide (EB), cetylpyridinium chloride (CTP) and tetraphenyl phosphonium (TPP). SDS-Tricine PAGE and dynamic light scattering (DLS) analysis revealed that the addition of QCCs did not induce higher multimeric forms of either proteins at all QCC:EmrE molar ratios examined under the solubilization conditions applied. QCC binding curves obtained from the Trp fluorescence quenching spectra, gave the values of dissociation constant (Kd) and maximum specific one-site binding (Bmax). Lower Bmax values to QCCs for his6-tagged EmrE shows that the binding sites remained unoccupied. This lower saturation suggests that the his6-tagged versions provide a conformation that prevents saturated binding. Our data demonstrate that tagging an integral membrane protein can significantly influence the protein.

Keywords: small multidrug resistance (SMR) protein, EmrE, integral membrane protein folding, quaternary ammonium compounds (QAC), quaternary cation compounds (QCC), nickel affinity chromatography, hexahistidine (His6) tag

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Authors: Pin-Wei Chiang, Wen-Liang Chang, Ruey-Huei Yeh

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This paper investigates optimal replacement and preventative maintenance policies of secondhand products under a Finite Planning Horizon (FPH). Any consumer wishing to replace their product under FPH would have it undergo minimal repairs. The replacement provided would be required to undergo periodical preventive maintenance done to avoid product failure. Then, a mathematical formula for disbursement cost for products under FPH can be derived. Optimal policies are then obtained to minimize cost. In the first of two segments of the paper, a model for initial product purchase of either new or secondhand products is used. This model is built by analyzing product purchasing price, surplus value of product, as well as the minimal repair cost. The second segment uses a model for replacement products, which are also secondhand products with no limit on usage. This model analyzes the same components as the first as well as expected preventative maintenance cost. Using these two models, a formula for the expected final total cost can be developed. The formula requires four variables (optimal preventive maintenance level, preventive maintenance frequency, replacement timing, age of replacement product) to find minimal cost requirement. Based on analysis of the variables using the expected total final cost model, it was found that the purchasing price and length of ownership were directly related. Also, consumers should choose the secondhand product with the higher usage for replacement. Products with higher initial usage upon acquisition require an earlier replacement schedule. In this case, replacements should be made with a secondhand product with less usage. In addition, preventative maintenance also significantly reduces cost. Consumers that plan to use products for longer periods of time replace their products later. Hence these consumers should choose the secondhand product with lesser initial usage for replacement. Preventative maintenance also creates significant total cost savings in this case. This study provides consumers with a method of calculating both the ideal amount of usage of the products they should purchase as well as the frequency and level of preventative maintenance that should be conducted in order to minimize cost and maintain product function.

Keywords: finite planning horizon, second hand product, replacement, preventive maintenance, minimal repair

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Authors: Dalia. G. Aseel, E. E. Hafez, S. M. Hammad

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Viral RNAs of both potato leaf roll virus (PLRV) and potato virus Y (PVY) were extracted from infected potato leaves collected from different Egyptian regions. Differential Display Polymerase Chain Reaction (DD-PCR) using (Endogluconase, β-1,3-glucanases, Chitinase, Peroxidase and Polyphenol oxidase) primers (forward strand) for was performed. The obtained data revealed different banding patterns depending on the viral type and the region of infection. Regarding PLRV, a 58 up regulated and 19 down regulated genes were detected, while, 31 up regulated and 14 down regulated genes were observed in case of PVY. Based on the nucleotide sequencing, variable phylogenetic relationships were reported for the three sequenced genes coding for: Induced stolen tip protein, Disease resistance RPP-like protein and non-specific lipid-transfer protein. In a complementary approach, using the quantitative Real-time PCR, the expressions of PRs genes understudy were estimated in the infected leaves by PLRV and PVY of three potato cultivars (Spunta, Diamont and Cara). The infection with both viruses inhibited the expressions of the five PRs genes. On the contrary, infected leaves by PLRV or PVY elevated the expression of some defense genes. This interaction also may be enhanced and/or inhibited the expression of some genes responsible for the plant defense mechanisms.

Keywords: PLRV, PVY, PR genes, DD-PCR, qRT-PCR, sequencing

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Authors: Mayank, Navneet Kaur, Narinder Singh

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The V599 mutations in the BRAF protein are extremely oncogenic, responsible for countless of malignant conditions. Along with wild type, V599E, V599D, and V599R are the important mutated variants of the BRAF proteins. The BRAF inhibitory anticancer agents are continuously developing, and sorafenib is a BRAF inhibitor that is under clinical use. The crystal structure of sorafenib bounded to wild type, and V599 is known, showing a similar interaction pattern in both the case. The mutated 599th residue, in both the case, is also found not interacting directly with the co-crystallized sorafenib molecule. However, the IC50 value of sorafenib was found extremely different in both the case, i.e., 22 nmol/L for wild and 38 nmol/L for V599E protein. Molecular docking study and MMGBSA binding energy results also revealed a significant difference in the binding pattern of sorafenib in both the case. Therefore, to explore the role of distinctively situated 599th residue, we have further conducted comprehensive computational studies. The molecular dynamics simulation, residue interaction network (RIN) analysis, and residue correlation study results revealed the importance of the 599th residue on the therapeutic outcome and overall dynamic of the BRAF protein. Therefore, although the position of 599th residue is very much distinctive from the ligand-binding cavity of BRAF, still it has exceptional control over the overall functional outcome of the protein. The insight obtained here may seem extremely important and guide us while designing ideal BRAF inhibitory anticancer molecules.

Keywords: BRAF, oncogenic, sorafenib, computational studies

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Authors: Dian Nur Amalia, Rifqi Dhiemas Aji, Tri Septa Wahyuningsih, Endang Wahyuni

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Kepel fruit (Stelechocarpus burahol) is a scarce fruit that belongs as a logogram of Daerah Istimewa Yogyakarta. Kepel fruit can be used as substance of beauty treatment product, such as deodorant and good for skin health, and also contains antioxidant compound. Otherwise, this fruit is scarcely cultivated by people because of its image as a palace fruit and also the flesh percentage just a little, so it has low economic value. The flesh of kepel fruit is about 49% of its whole fruit. This little part as supporting point why kepel fruit has to be extracted and processed with the other product. Yoghurt is milk processing product that also have a role as functional food. Economically, the price of yoghurt is higher than whole milk or other milk processing product. Yoghurt is usually added with flavor of dye from plant or from chemical substance. Kepel fruit has a role as flavor in yoghurt, besides as product that good for digestion, yoghurt with kepel also has function as “beauty” food. Writing method that used is literature study by looking for the potential of kepel fruit as a local fruit of Yogyakarta and yoghurt as milk processing product. The process just like making common yoghurt because kepel fruit just have a role as flavor substance, so it does not affect to the other processing of yoghurt. Food diversification can be done as an effort to increase the value of local resources that proper to compete in Asean Economic Community (AEC), one of the way is producing kepel yoghurt.

Keywords: kepel, yoghurt, Daerah Istimewa Yogyakarta, functional food

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Authors: Olubukayo-Opeyemi Oyetayo, Oscar Mendez-Lucio, Andreas Bender, Hans Kiefer

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The thermal melting curve of a protein provides information on its conformational stability and could provide cues on its aggregation behavior. Naturally-occurring osmolytes have been shown to improve the thermal stability of most proteins in a concentration-dependent manner. They are therefore commonly employed as additives in therapeutic protein purification and formulation. A number of intertwined and seemingly conflicting mechanisms have been put forward to explain the observed stabilizing effects, the most prominent being the preferential exclusion mechanism. We attempted to probe and summarize molecular mechanisms for thermal stabilization of a monoclonal antibody (mAb) by developing quantitative structure-activity relationships using a rationally-selected library of 120 osmolyte-like compounds in the polyhydric alcohols, amino acids and methylamines classes. Thermal stabilization potencies were experimentally determined by thermal shift assays based on differential scanning fluorimetry. The cross-validated QSAR model was developed by partial least squares regression using descriptors generated from Molecular Operating Environment software. Careful evaluation of the results with the use of variable importance in projection parameter (VIP) and regression coefficients guided the selection of the most relevant descriptors influencing mAb thermal stability. For the mAb studied and at pH 7, the thermal stabilization effects of tested compounds correlated positively with their fractional polar surface area and inversely with their fractional hydrophobic surface area. We cannot claim that the observed trends are universal for osmolyte-protein interactions because of protein-specific effects, however this approach should guide the quick selection of (de)stabilizing compounds for a protein from a chemical library. Further work with a large variety of proteins and at different pH values would help the derivation of a solid explanation as to the nature of favorable osmolyte-protein interactions for improved thermal stability. This approach may be beneficial in the design of novel protein stabilizers with optimal property values, especially when the influence of solution conditions like the pH and buffer species and the protein properties are factored in.

Keywords: thermal stability, monoclonal antibodies, quantitative structure-activity relationships, osmolytes

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Authors: Ching-I Chen

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The continued rise of e-commerce is the main driver of the rapid growth of global online purchase. Consumers can nearly buy everything they want at one occasion through online shopping. The purchase behavior models which focus on single product category are insufficient to describe online shopping behavior. Therefore, analysis of multi-category purchase gets more and more popular. For example, market basket analysis explores customers’ buying tendency of the association between product categories. The information derived from market basket analysis facilitates to make cross-selling strategies and product recommendation system. To detect the association between different product categories, we use the market basket analysis with the multidimensional scaling technique to build an associated map which describes how likely multiple product categories are bought at the same time. Besides, we also build an inter-purchase time model for associated products to describe how likely a product will be bought after its associated product is bought. We classify inter-purchase time behaviors of multi-category products into nine types, and use a mixture regression model to integrate those behaviors under our assumptions of purchase sequences. Our sample data is from comScore which provides a panelist-label database that captures detailed browsing and buying behavior of internet users across the United States. Finding the inter-purchase time from books to movie is shorter than the inter-purchase time from movies to books. According to the model analysis and empirical results, this research finally proposes the applications and recommendations in the management.

Keywords: multiple-category purchase behavior, inter-purchase time, market basket analysis, e-commerce

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Authors: Narin Salehiyan, Ramin Ghasemi Shayan

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In order to investigate coronavirus RNA replication, transcription, recombination, protein processing and transport, virion assembly, the identification of coronavirus-specific cell receptors, and polymerase processing, the manipulation of coronavirus clones and complementary DNAs (cDNAs) of defective-interfering (DI) RNAs is the subject of this chapter. The idea of the Covid genome is nonsegmented, single-abandoned, and positive-sense RNA. When compared to other RNA viruses, its size is significantly greater, ranging from 27 to 32 kb. The quality encoding the enormous surface glycoprotein depends on 4.4 kb, encoding a forcing trimeric, profoundly glycosylated protein. This takes off exactly 20 nm over the virion envelope, giving the infection the appearance-with a little creative mind of a crown or coronet. Covid research has added to the comprehension of numerous parts of atomic science as a general rule, like the component of RNA union, translational control, and protein transport and handling. It stays a fortune equipped for creating startling experiences.

Keywords: covid-19, corona, virus, genome, genetic

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Authors: Cholpassorn Sitthiwarongchai

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The purposes of this paper were to search for the uniqueness of community products from Bang Khonthi District, Samut Songkram Province, Thailand and to create a proper brand for the community products. Four important questions were asked to identify the uniqueness of the community products. The first question: What is the brand of coconut sugar that community wants to imply? The answer was 100 percent authentic coconut sugar. The second question: What is the nature of this product? The answer was that it is a natural product without any harmful chemical. The third question is: Who are the target customers? The answer was that homemakers and tourists are target customers. The fourth question: What is the brand guarantee to customers? The answer was that the brand guarantees that the product is 100 percent natural process with a high quality and it is a community production. The findings revealed that in terms of product, customers rated quality and package as the two most important factors. In terms of price, customers rated lower price and a visible label as the two most important factors. In terms of place, customer rated layout and the cleanliness of the place as the two most important factors. In terms of promotion, customer rated public relations and brochure at the store as the most important factors. From the group discussion, the local community agreed that the brand for the community coconut sugar of Salapi community should be a picture of a green coconut tree and yellow color background. This brand implies the strength of community and authentic of the high quality natural product.

Keywords: coconut sugar, community brand, Samut Songkram, natural product

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Authors: Wei-Chou Hsu, Ching-Sung Lee, Han-Yin Liu

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This work uses H2O2 oxidation technique to improve the pH sensitivity of the AlGaN/GaN-based ion-sensitive field-effect transistors (ISFETs). 10-nm-thick Al2O3 was grown on the surface of the AlGaN. It was found that the pH sensitivity was improved from 41.6 mV/pH to 55.2 mV/pH. Since the H2O2-grown Al2O3 was served as a passivation layer and the problem of Fermi-level pinning was suppressed for the ISFET with the H2O2 oxidation process. Hysteresis effect in the ISFET with the H2O2 treatment also became insignificant. The hysteresis effect was observed by dipping the ISFETs into different pH value solutions and comparing the voltage difference between the initial and final conditions. The hysteresis voltage (Vhys) of the ISFET with the H2O2 oxidation process was improved from 8.7 mV to 4.8 mV. The hysteresis effect is related to the buried binding sites which are related to the material defects like threading dislocations in the AlGaN/GaN heterostructure which was grown by the hetero-epitaxy technique. The H2O2-grown Al2O3 passivate these material defects and the Al2O3 has less material defects. The long-term stability of the ISFET is estimated by the drift effect measurement. The drift measurement was conducted by dipping the ISFETs into a specific pH value solution for 12 hours and the ISFETs were operating at a specific quiescent point. The drift rate is estimated by the drift voltage divided by the total measuring time. It was found that the drift rate of the ISFET was improved from 10.1 mV/hour to 1.91 mV/hour in the pH 7 solution, from 14.06 mV/hour to 6.38 mV/pH in the pH 2 solution, and from 12.8 mV/hour to 5.48 mV/hour in the pH 12 solution. The drift effect results from the capacitance variation in the electric double layer. The H2O2-grown Al2O3 provides an additional capacitance connection in series with the electric double layer. Therefore, the capacitance variation of the electric double layer became insignificant. Generally, the H2O2 oxidation process is a simple, fast, and cost-effective method for the AlGaN/GaN-based ISFET. Furthermore, the performance of the AlGaN/GaN ISFET was improved effectively and the non-ideal effects were suppressed.

Keywords: AlGaN/GaN, Al2O3, hysteresis effect, drift effect, reliability, passivation, pH sensors

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Authors: Awf A. Al-Khan, Michael J. Day, Judith Nimmo, Mourad Tayebi, Stewart D. Ryan, Samantha J. Richardson, Janine A. Danks

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Osteosarcoma (OS) is the most common type of malignant primary bone tumour in dogs. In addition to their critical roles in bone formation and remodeling, parathyroid hormone-related protein (PTHrP) and its receptor (PTHR1) are involved in progression and metastasis of many types of tumours in humans. The aims of this study were to determine the localisation and expression levels of PTHrP and PTHR1 in canine OS tissues using immunohistochemistry and to investigate if this expression is correlated with survival time. Formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissue samples from 44 dogs with known survival time that had been diagnosed with primary osteosarcoma were analysed for localisation of PTHrP and PTHR1. Findings showed that both PTHrP and PTHR1 were present in all OS samples. The dogs with high level of PTHR1 protein (16%) had decreased survival time (P<0.05) compared to dogs with less PTHR1 protein. PTHrP levels did not correlate with survival time (P>0.05). The results of this study indicate that the PTHR1 is expressed differently in canine OS tissues and this may be correlated with poor prognosis. This may mean that PTHR1 may be useful as a prognostic indicator in canine OS and could represent a good therapeutic target in OS.

Keywords: dog, expression, osteosarcoma, parathyroid hormone receptor 1 (PTHR1), parathyroid hormone-related protein (PTHrP), survival

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Authors: Ibrahim Iddrisu, Joseph Ayariga, Junhuan Xu, Ayomide Adebanjo, Boakai K. Robertson, Michelle Samuel-Foo, Olufemi Ajayi

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The rise of antimicrobial resistance is a global public health crisis that threatens the effective control and prevention of infections. Due to the emergence of pan drug-resistant bacteria, most antibiotics have lost their efficacy. Bacteriophages or their components are known to target bacterial cell walls, cell membranes, and lipopolysaccharides (LPS) and hydrolyze them. Bacteriophages, being the natural predators of pathogenic bacteria, are inevitably categorized as ‘human friends’, thus fulfilling the adage that ‘the enemy of my enemy is my friend’. Leveraging on their lethal capabilities against pathogenic bacteria, researchers are searching for more ways to overcome the current antibiotic resistance challenge. In this study, we expressed and purified epsilon 34 phage tail spike protein (E34 TSP) from the E34 TSP gene, then assessed the ability of this bacteriophage protein in the killing of two CBD-resistant strains of Salmonella spp. We also assessed the ability of the tail spike protein to cause bacteria membrane disruption and dehydrogenase depletion. We observed that the combined treatment of CBD-resistant strains of Salmonella with CBD and E34 TSP showed poor killing ability, whereas the mono treatment with E34 TSP showed considerably higher killing efficiency. This study demonstrates that the inhibition of the bacteria by E34 TSP was due in part to membrane disruption and dehydrogenase inactivation by the protein. The results of this work provide an interesting background to highlight the crucial role phage proteins such as E34 TSP could play in pathogenic bacterial control.

Keywords: cannabidiol, resistance, Salmonella, antimicrobials, phages

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Authors: Jamshid Ghiasi Ghalehkandi, Naser Maheri Sis, Yahya Ebrahimnezhad, Shahin Hassanpour

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The objective of present study was to examine the effects of fresh garlic juice on semen malondialdehyde (MDA), superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and total antioxidant status (TAS) in male rats. Fifty-four male rats (230-250 g) were allocated into 3 treatment groups (each include 3 groups and 6 replicate). Group 1 served as water control. In group 2, rats were gavaged with 60 mg/kg garlic juice. In group 3, rats were offered 120 mg/kg garlic juice. Animals received treatments orally and ad libitum access to chow pellets and fresh water. After 4 weeks, animals were killed, testes were taken out and semen samples were used to determine MDA, SOD, GPx and TAS activity. According to the results, garlic juice (120 mg/kg) significantly declined semen MDA activity compared to control group (P<0.05). These results suggest that presumably garlic juice protects semen oxidation in rat testes.

Keywords: garlic juice, chromium chloride, semen, rat

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Authors: Chuanpeng Zhou

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The effect of dietary carbohydrate (CHO) level on serum physiological response, hepatic antioxidant abilities and heat shock protein 70 (HSP70) expression of Wuchang bream (Megalobrama amblycephala) was studied. Two isonitrogenous (28.56% crude protein) and isolipidic (5.28% crude lipid) diets were formulated to contain 30% or 53% wheat starch. Diets were fed for 90 days to fish in triplicate tanks (28 fish per tank). At the end of feeding trial, significantly higher serum triglyceride level, insulin level, cortisol level, malondialdehyde (MDA) content were observed in fish fed the 53% CHO diet, while significantly lower serum total protein content, alkaline phosphatase (AKP) activity, superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity and total antioxidative capacity (T-AOC) were found in fish fed the 53% CHO diet compared with those fed the 30% diet. The relative level of hepatic heat shock protein 70 mRNA was significantly higher in the 53% CHO group than that in the 30% CHO at 6, 12, and 48 h after feeding. The results of this study indicated that ingestion of 53% dietary CHO impacted the nonspecific immune ability and caused metabolic stress of Megalobrama amblycephala.

Keywords: Megalobrama amblycephala, carbohydrate, fasted and postprandial response, immunity, Hsp70

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Authors: K. Thiel, P. Patrikainen, C. Nagy, D. Fitzpatrick, E.-M. Aro, P. Kallio

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Photosynthetic cyanobacteria have been recognized as potential future biotechnological hosts for the direct conversion of CO₂ into chemicals of interest using sunlight as the solar energy source. However, in order to develop commercially viable systems, the flux of electrons from the photosynthetic light reactions towards specified target chemicals must be significantly improved. The objective of the study was to investigate whether the autotrophic production efficiency of specified end-metabolites can be improved in engineered cyanobacterial cells by rescuing excited electrons that are normally lost to molecular oxygen due to the cyanobacterial flavodiiron protein Flv1/3. Natively Flv1/3 dissipates excess electrons in the photosynthetic electron transfer chain by directing them to molecular oxygen in Mehler-like reaction to protect photosystem I. To evaluate the effect of flavodiiron inactivation on autotrophic production efficiency in the cyanobacterial host Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 (Synechocystis), sucrose was selected as the quantitative reporter and a representative of a potential end-product of interest. The concept is based on the native property of Synechocystis to produce sucrose as an intracellular osmoprotectant when exposed to high external ion concentrations, in combination with the introduction of a heterologous sucrose permease (CscB from Escherichia coli), which transports the sucrose out from the cell. In addition, cell growth, photosynthetic gas fluxes using membrane inlet mass spectrometry and endogenous storage compounds were analysed to illustrate the consequent effects of flv deletion on pathway flux distributions. The results indicate that a significant proportion of the electrons can be lost to molecular oxygen via Flv1/3 even when the cells are grown under high CO₂ and that the inactivation of flavodiiron activity can enhance the photosynthetic electron flux towards optionally available sinks. The flux distribution is dependent on the light conditions and the genetic context of the Δflv mutants, and favors the production of either sucrose or one of the two storage compounds, glycogen or polyhydroxybutyrate. As a conclusion, elimination of the native Flv1/3 reaction and concomitant introduction of an engineered product pathway as an alternative sink for excited electrons could enhance the photosynthetic electron flux towards the target endproduct without compromising the fitness of the host.

Keywords: cyanobacterial engineering, flavodiiron proteins, redirecting electron flux, sucrose

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Authors: Y. N. Fung, R. Liu, T. M. Choi

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Over the past decades, previous studies have explored different consumers’ attitudes towards sustainable fashion and how these attitudes affect consumer behaviors. Researchers have attempted to provide solutions for product suppliers (e.g., retailers, designers, developers, and manufacturers) through studying consumers’ attitudes towards sustainable fashion. However, based on the studies of consumer attitudes, investigations on the sales and market share of sustainable sportswear products remain under-explored. Gaps may exist between the consumers’ expectations and the developed sustainable sportswear products. In this study, a novel study has been carried out to examine the attitude gaps existing between the sustainable sportswear suppliers’ (SSSs) and the sustainable sportswear consumers (SSCs). This study firstly identifies the key attitudes towards sustainable sportswear product development. It analyses how sustainable attitudes affect the products being developed, as well as the effects of the attitude’s difference between the SSSs and the SSCs on the consumers’ satisfaction towards sportswear product consumption. A gap analysis research framework is adopted with the use of collected questionnaire survey data. The results indicate that a significant difference exists between SSSs and SSCs’ attitudes towards sustainable design, manufacture, product features, and branding. Based on in-depth interviews, the major causes of the difference in attitudes are studied to provide managerial insights for sustainable sportswear product management and business development.

Keywords: sustainability, sportswear, attitude, gap analysis, suppliers, consumers

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Authors: George Nyori Makari

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Data on 92 industrial organizations point to the existence of relationships between advanced manufacturing technology (AMT) adoption and some aspects of organizational structure, including the number of specialized sub-units, the number of levels of authority, span of control, degree of role programming specification, degree of communication programming specification and the degree of output programming. Primary finding is that as the investments and integration of AMTs increases, the more likely the foregoing aspects of structure increase. The findings hold with size and a number of other organizational variables controlled. The results indicate that a company’s capacity to assimilate technology depends on its organizational capabilities. The study encapsulates the need for companies to increase their organizational capabilities during investment and integration of AMTs.

Keywords: advanced manufacturing technology, adoption, organizational structure, Kenya

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Authors: A. Ameur Ameur, F. Chougrani, M. Halbouche

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In order to characterize the sheep's milk, we analyzed and compared, in a first stage of our work, the physical and chemical characteristics in two Algerian sheep breeds: Hamra race and race Ouled Djellal breeding at the station the experimental ITELV Ain Hadjar (Saïda Province). Analyses are performed by Ekomilk Ultra-analyzer (EON TRADING LLC, USA), they focused on the pH, density, freezing, fat, total protein, solids-the total dry extract. The results obtained for these parameters showed no significant differences between the two breeds studied. The second stage of this work was the isolation and characterization of milk proteins. For this, we used the precipitation of caseins phi [pH 4.6]. For this, we used the precipitation of caseins Phi (pH 4.6). After extraction, purification and assay, both casein and serum protein fractions were then assayed by the Bradford method and controlled by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE) in the different conditions (native, in the presence of urea and in the presence of SDS). The electrophoretic pattern of milk samples showed the presence similarities of four major caseins variants (αs1-, αs2-β-and k-casein) and two whey proteins (β-lactoglobulin, α-lactalbumin) of two races Hamra and Ouled Djellal. But compared to bovine milk, they have helped to highlight some peculiarities as related to serum proteins (α La β Lg) as caseins, including αs1-Cn.

Keywords: Hamra, Ouled Djellal, protein polymorphism, sheep breeds

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Authors: Hamidreza Saberkari, Mousa Shamsi, Hossein Ahmadi, Saeed Vaali, , MohammadHossein Sedaaghi

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In the recent years, using signal processing tools for accurate identification of the protein coding regions has become a challenge in bioinformatics. Most of the genomic signal processing methods is based on the period-3 characteristics of the nucleoids in DNA strands and consequently, spectral analysis is applied to the numerical sequences of DNA to find the location of periodical components. In this paper, a novel ensemble algorithm for gene selection in DNA sequences has been presented which is based on the combination of Goertzel algorithm and anti-notch filter (ANF). The proposed algorithm has many advantages when compared to other conventional methods. Firstly, it leads to identify the coding protein regions more accurate due to using the Goertzel algorithm which is tuned at the desired frequency. Secondly, faster detection time is achieved. The proposed algorithm is applied on several genes, including genes available in databases BG570 and HMR195 and their results are compared to other methods based on the nucleotide level evaluation criteria. Implementation results show the excellent performance of the proposed algorithm in identifying protein coding regions, specifically in identification of small-scale gene areas.

Keywords: protein coding regions, period-3, anti-notch filter, Goertzel algorithm

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Authors: Fatima Arrutia, Francisco Amador Riera

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The meat industry generates large volumes of blood as a result of meat processing. Several industrial procedures have been implemented in order to treat this by-product, but are focused on the production of low-value products, and in many cases, blood is simply discarded as waste. Besides, in addition to economic interests, there is an environmental concern due to bloodborne pathogens and other chemical contaminants found in blood. Consequently, there is a dire need to find extensive uses for blood that can be both applicable to industrial scale and able to yield high value-added products. Blood has been recognized as an important source of protein. The main blood serum protein in mammals is serum albumin. One of the top trends in food market is functional foods. Among them, bioactive peptides can be obtained from protein sources by microbiological fermentation or enzymatic and chemical hydrolysis. Bioactive peptides are short amino acid sequences that can have a positive impact on health when administered. The main drawback for bioactive peptide production is the high cost of the isolation, purification and characterization techniques (such as chromatography and mass spectrometry) that make unaffordable the scale-up. On the other hand, membrane technologies are very suitable to apply to the industry because they offer a very easy scale-up and are low-cost technologies, compared to other traditional separation methods. In this work, the possibility of obtaining bioactive peptide fractions from serum albumin by means of a simple procedure of only 2 steps (hydrolysis and membrane filtration) was evaluated, as an exploratory study for possible industrial application. The methodology used in this work was, firstly, a tryptic hydrolysis of serum albumin in order to release the peptides from the protein. The protein was previously subjected to a thermal treatment in order to enhance the enzyme cleavage and thus the peptide yield. Then, the obtained hydrolysate was filtered through a nanofiltration/ultrafiltration flat rig at three different pH values with two different membrane materials, so as to compare membrane performance. The corresponding permeates were analyzed by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry technology in order to obtain the peptide sequences present in each permeate. Finally, different concentrations of every permeate were evaluated for their in vitro antihypertensive and antioxidant activities though ACE-inhibition and DPPH radical scavenging tests. The hydrolysis process with the previous thermal treatment allowed achieving a degree of hydrolysis of the 49.66% of the maximum possible. It was found that peptides were best transmitted to the permeate stream at pH values that corresponded to their isoelectric points. Best selectivity between peptide groups was achieved at basic pH values. Differences in peptide content were found between membranes and also between pH values for the same membrane. The antioxidant activity of all permeates was high compared with the control only for the highest dose. However, antihypertensive activity was best for intermediate concentrations, rather than higher or lower doses. Therefore, although differences between them, all permeates were promising regarding antihypertensive and antioxidant properties.

Keywords: bioactive peptides, bovine serum albumin, hydrolysis, membrane filtration

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Authors: Ganesh K. Maurya, Reema Chaudhary, Neha Pandey, Hari S. Misra

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PprA, a pleiotropic protein participating in radioresistance, has been reported for its roles in DNA replication initiation, genome segregation, cell division and DNA repair in polyextremophile Deinococcus radiodurans. Interestingly, expression of deinococcal PprA in E. coli suppresses its growth by reducing the number of colony forming units and provides better resistance against γ-radiation than control. We employed different biochemical and cell biology studies using PprA and its DNA binding/polymerization mutants (K133E & W183R) in E. coli. Cells expressing wild type PprA or its K133E mutant showed reduction in the amount of genomic DNA as well as chromosome copy number in comparison to W183R mutant of PprA and control cells, which suggests the role of PprA protein in regulation of DNA replication initiation in E. coli. Further, E. coli cells expressing PprA or its mutants exhibited different impact on cell morphology than control. Expression of PprA or K133E mutant displayed a significant increase in cell length upto 5 folds while W183R mutant showed cell length similar to uninduced control cells. We checked the interaction of deinococcal PprA and its mutants with E. coli DnaA using Bacterial two-hybrid system and co-immunoprecipitation. We observed a functional interaction of EcDnaA with PprA and K133E mutant but not with W183R mutant of PprA. Further, PprA or K133E mutant has suppressed the ATPase activity of EcDnaA but W183R mutant of PprA failed to do so. These observations suggested that PprA protein regulates DNA replication initiation and cell morphology of surrogate E. coli.

Keywords: DNA replication, radioresistance, protein-protein interaction, cell morphology, ATPase activity

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Authors: Arash Khorasani Esmaeili, Rosna Mat Taha, Sadegh Mohajer

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Seeds of Trifolium pratense (Red clover) were exposed in vitro for 6 weeks to six levels of lead (Pb) concentrations (0, 50, 100, 150, 200, 250 µM) to analyze the effects on growth, total chlorophyll and total protein contents of grown plants against the lead accumulation. The growth of plants was negatively affected by various levels of lead treatment. The fresh and dry weights, as well as lengths of shoots and roots of grown plants under various lead treatments, were found significantly lower in comparison with the control plants. Total chlorophyll and total soluble protein contents of grown plants under lower concentrations of lead treatment did not show significant differences when compared with the control plants, although they were affected significantly in higher levels of lead accumulation (150-250 µM).

Keywords: trifolium pratense, lead accumulation, chlorophyll content, protein content

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Authors: Min-Shiuan Liou, Yi Shan Yang, Yang-Zhan Huang, Chia-Wen Hsieh

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A high speed growing and butanol-tolerant Clostridium acetobutylicum HOL1 mutant was screened throughout continuous adaption culture with C. acetobutylicum ATCC 824. The HOL1 strain can grow well in 10 g/L butanol contained CGM medium and can produce about 12.8 g /L butanol during 24 hrs. The C. acetobutylicum HOL1 strain was able to produce 166 mM butanol with 21 mM acetone at pH 4.8, resulting in a butanol selectivity (a molar ratio of butanol to total solvents) of 0.79, which is much higher than that (0.6) of the wild-type strain C. acetobutylicum ATCC 824. The acetate and butyrate accumulation were not observed during fermentation of the HOL1 strain. A hyper-butanol producing C. acetobutylicum HOL1 (pBPHS-3), which was created to overexpress the Bacillus psychrosaccharolyticus originated specific heat-shock protein gene, hspX, from a clostridial phosphotransbutyrylase promoter, was studied for its potential to produce a high titer of butanol. Overexpression of hspX resulted in increased final butanol yield 47% and 30% higher than those of the the ATCC824 and the HOL1 strains, respectively. The remarkable high-speed growth and butanol tolerance of strain HOL1 (pBPHS-3) demonstrates that overexpression of heterogeneous stress protein-encoding gene, hspX, could help C. acetobutylicum to effectively produce a high concentration of butanol.

Keywords: Clostridium acetobutylicum, butanol, heat-shock protein, resistance

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Authors: Michal Alon-Tirosh, Dorit Hadar-Shoval

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Social Psychology theories, such as the intergroup contact theory, content that bringing members of different social groups into contact is a promising approach for improving intergroup relations. The heterogeneous nature of the nursing profession generates encounters between members of different social groups .The social relations that nursing students develop with their peers during their years of study, and the meanings they ascribe to these contacts, may affect the success of their nursing careers. Jewish-Arab relations in Israel are the product of an ongoing conflict and are characterized by stereotyped negative perceptions and mutual suspicions. Nursing education is often the first situation in which Jewish and Arab nursing students have direct and long-term contact with people from the other group. These encounters present a significant challenge. The current study explores whether this contact between Jewish and Arab nursing students during their academic studies improves their perception of their intergroup relationship. The study explores the students' perceptions of the social relations between the two groups. We examine attribution of stereotypes (positive and negative) and willingness to engage in social interactions with individuals from the other group. The study hypothesis is that academic seniority (beginning students, advanced students) will be related to perceptions of the relations between the two groups, as manifested in attributions of positive and negative stereotypes and willingness to reduce the social distance between the two groups. Method: One hundred and eighty Jewish and Arab nursing students (111 Jewish and 69 Arab) completed questionnaires examining their perceptions of the social relations between the two groups. The questionnaires were administered at two different points in their studies (beginning students and those at more advanced stages Results: No differences were found between beginning students and advanced students with respect to stereotypes. However, advanced students expressed greater willingness to reduce social distance than did beginning students. Conclusions: The findings indicate that bringing members of different social groups into contact may improve some aspects of intergroup relations. The findings suggest that different aspects of perceptions of social relations are influenced by different contexts: the students' specific context (joint studies and joint work in the future) and the broader general context of relations between the groups. Accordingly, it is recommended that programs aimed at improving relations in a between social groups will focus on willingness to cooperate and reduce social distance rather than on attempts to eliminate stereotypes.

Keywords: nursing education, perceived social relations, social distance, stereotypes

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Authors: Jessica Pinheiro Silva, Brenda Rabello De Camargo, Daniel Gusmao De Morais, Eliane Ferreira Noronha

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The utilization of lignocellulosic biomass as source of polysaccharides for industrial applications requires an arsenal of enzymes with different mode of action able to hydrolyze its complex and recalcitrant structure. Clostridium thermocellum is gram-positive, thermophilic bacterium producing lignocellulosic hydrolyzing enzymes in the form of multi-enzyme complex, termed celulossomes. This complex has several hydrolytic enzymes attached to a large and enzymically inactive protein known as Cellulosome-integrating protein (CipA), which serves as a scaffolding protein for the complex produced. This attachment occurs through specific interactions between cohesin modules of CipA and dockerin modules in enzymes. The present work aims to construct celulosomes in vitro with the structural protein CipA, a xylanase called Xyn10D and a cellulose called CelJ from C.thermocellum. A mini-scafoldin was constructed from modules derived from CipA containing two cohesion modules. This was cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli. The other two genes were cloned under the control of the alcohol oxidase 1 promoter (AOX1) in the vector pPIC9 and integrated into the genome of the methylotrophic yeast Pichia pastoris GS115. Purification of each protein is being carried out. Further studies regarding enzymatic activity of the cellulosome is going to be evaluated. The cellulosome built in vitro and composed of mini-CipA, CelJ and Xyn10D, can be very interesting for application in industrial processes involving the degradation of plant biomass.

Keywords: cellulosome, CipA, Clostridium thermocellum, cohesin, dockerin, yeast

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Authors: Mohamed A. Morsy, Azza A. K. El-Sheikh, Abdulla Y. Al-Taher

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The aim of the present study is to investigate the effect of resveratrol (RES) on methotrexate (MTX)-induced testicular damage. RES (10 mg/kg/day) was given for 8 days orally and MTX (20 mg/kg i.p.) was given at day 4 of experiment, with or without RES in rats. MTX decreased serum testosterone, induced histopathological testicular damage, increased testicular tumor necrosis factor-α level and expression of nuclear factor-κB and cyclooxygenase-2. In MTX/RES group, significant reversal of these parameters was noticed, compared to MTX group. Testicular expression of multidrug resistance protein (Mrp) 3 was three- and five-folds higher in RES- and MTX/RES-treated groups, respectively. In vitro, using prostate cancer cells, each of MTX and RES alone induced cytotoxicity with IC50 0.18 ± 0.08 and 20.5 ± 3.6 µM, respectively. RES also significantly enhanced cytotoxicity of MTX. In conclusion, RES appears to have dual beneficial effect, as it promotes MTX tumor cytotoxicity, while protecting the testes, probably via up-regulation of testicular Mrp3 as a novel mechanism.

Keywords: resveratrol, methotrexate, multidrug resistance protein 3, tumor necrosis factor-α, nuclear factor-κB, cyclooxygenase-2

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